Inertia measurements for determining the inertia characteristics of an object with a spatial mass distribution (in contrast to point masses) serve for the simulation or prediction of the dynamic behaviour of the object, such as e.g. a car. Information for example on the handling behaviour of a car can be provided for example by way of determining the inertia characteristics such as centre of gravity and as well as the moments (moment of inertia and/or moment of deviation) of the inertia tensor. Numerous industrial applications for determining the inertia characteristics are known from the state of the art.
One of the methods for determining the moments of the inertia tensor or of the centre of gravity and known from the state of the art is a so-called gravity pendulum method. Thereby, the object to be measured or the gravity body to be measured is pendulated along nine or more different axes, wherein the inertia characteristics of the object arranged on the pendulum can be determined by way of measuring the natural frequencies of the pendulum oscillation. One of the standard methods is the fastening of the body to be measured on a carrier which is provided with blade bearings, wherein the blade bearings are suspended on two bearing holders and thus form a horizontal pendulum axis. The blade bearings lie on their blade tips along a line. The inertia tensor is determined bit by bit by way of fastening the body on the carrier in different spatial orientations.
A further variant of a method of the state of the art permits an object carrier to be suspended at different points, so that the body which is to be measured and which is fastened on the carrier is pendulated on two axes which are different but are parallel to one another. At least one moment of inertia and one centre of gravity coordinate of the object can be determined by way of this, given the same orientation of the body to be measured, on the pendulum.
A further method is known from U.S. Pat. No. 5,309,753. Here too, blade bearings are used, and the object is measured by way of arrangement on different adapters. Although numerous further methods are known in the state of the art, common to many methods is the fact that the changing of the pendulum axes requires much effort and/or demands complicated mechanisms or a completed re-fixing by hand DE 20 62 2132 U1 is referred to inasmuch as this is concerned.